It’s not easy getting the great and the good of pro cycling on the telephone, but it’s a lot easier when they call you back! The gentlemanly Paul Sherwen, one half of pro road racing’s most famous commentary team, returned our call from his office in Uganda to shoot the breeze on his other day job, Lance, The Shack and more...!

The mark of a truly great tv commentator - Paul Sherwen is never short for words. And a good thing as we got his inside view on 2008 and a preview of 2009 – everything from Contador’s ‘sheer class’, the rise of Mark Cavendish, and Armstrong’s return, plus the challenges of commentating during a tumultuous season.

An epic day of rain, pain, and suffering is now behind me, and I’ve got the lactic acid as proof after suffering through a super-tough, 3-climb stage of the 2005 Giant Tour. Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen called today’s action…